High School Students Appear In Court For D.H. Conley Drive-By

Two teens accused of firing shots at a local high school last week appeared in court for the first time Monday morning.

According to the Pitt County Sheriff's Office, 17-year-olds C-Allah Coombs and Jeffrey Gough, both students at J.H. Rose High School, were arrested Saturday for the shooting.

Gough, who was released from jail this weekend, appeared before the judge at the courthouse who set a May 1st court date on the charges.

Coombs is still in jail and made his first appearance at that facility around 8:00 a.m.

Pitt County Detectives say a Crimestoppers tip led them to the students.

The drive-by shooting happened outside of D.H. Conley High School, during school hours, just before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Witnesses told deputies they saw a gold SUV driving past the school on Worthington Road when the passenger of the vehicle reached his arm over the car's roof, and fired shots in the school's direction.

Deputies said Gough was driving the vehicle and is charged with possession of a firearm on campus and accessory after the fact.

The Pitt County Sheriff's Office said Coombs fired the shots and is charged with discharging a weapon at an occupied property, having a gun on school grounds, and going armed to the terror of the public, among other charges.

Deputies say the two had the .45 caliber handgun at J.H. Rose, where they are juniors, before driving over to Conley.

Pitt County Schools released the following statement:

"In accordance with federal law, we cannot discuss specific student matters. However, we take student and staff safety very seriously and work hand-in-hand with law enforcement anytime a serious issue arises. In addition, school policies allow for short and long term suspensions of students when necessary to maintain order and safety in our schools. We are all relieved that nobody was injured last week and thankful that our local law enforcement and school officials acted so swiftly and utilized numerous resources to ensure the safety of our students and staff. We are pleased to say that we know of no current safety issues at D.H. Conley High School.”

Previous Story

The Pitt County Sheriff's Office has made two arrests in connection with a drive-by shooting that happened in front of D.H. Conley High School on Wednesday.

According to the Pitt County Sheriff's office, 17-year-old C-Allah Coombs and 17-year-old Jeffrey Gough, both students at J.H. Rose High School, were arrested overnight.

Deputies say Coombs has been charged with attempting to discharge a weapon into occupied property, possession of a firearm on campus, and going armed to the terror of the public.

Deputies say Gough was the driver of the vehicle. He has been charged with possession of a firearm on campus and accessory after the fact.

The drive-by shooting happened just before 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Witnesses told deputies that as a car was passing D.H. Conley High School on Worthington Road, a passenger reached his arm over the car's roof, aimed a gun in the direction of the school, and fired shots.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.